State Briefs 5/21/09

Thursday

May 21, 2009 at 12:01 AMMay 21, 2009 at 9:19 PM

News from around Illinois.

House backs ethics, procurement overhauls

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously backed government-reform proposals that would revamp the way the state purchases goods and services and make public the results of some ethics investigations.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, who sponsored both measures, said they are the result of work by the legislature's Joint Committee on Government Reform, a bipartisan panel created in the wake of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's arrest and impeachment.

By tightening procurement rules, the process will become more transparent and less susceptible to undue outside influence, Madigan said.

"We know that this was a major problem in prior (gubernatorial) administrations," he said, citing Blagojevich as an example. "The bill is laced with transparency requirements and notice requirements."

Under the measure, Senate Bill 51, the state executive ethics commission would appoint "chief purchasing officers" to handle state purchases.

The bill also would reverse one of Blagojevich's executive orders, which transferred state agencies' internal auditors to the Department of Central Management Services. They'd be sent back to the state agencies.

This will "begin to help us repair the breach that exists between state government and the people of the state of Illinois," said Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie.

The other legislation, Senate Bill 54, imposes tougher rules on the so-called "revolving door," which refers to state workers who take jobs with companies that conduct business with the state.

Another part of SB54 spells out that the results of ethics investigations must be made public if a state employee winds up getting fired or suspended for at least three days. At present, the results of those investigations are confidential.

Before becoming law, the bills still need to be approved in the Illinois Senate and signed by Gov. Pat Quinn.

State Capitol Bureau

Teen gets 2 years in prison for bringing gun to school

PEORIA -- A former Woodruff High School student was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for bringing a handgun to school last spring.

Victor D. Simmons, 19, of Morton seemed relieved to have the past year behind him. After the sentence was imposed, he told Peoria County Circuit Judge James Shadid, “Thanks.”

The judge told Simmons he didn’t want to impose a prison term but felt he had no other choice given Simmons’ repeated violations of pre-trial release where he tested positive for marijuana once and admitted to taking the drug two other times.

Simmons, for his part, took full responsibility for his actions and told Shadid that bringing the weapon to school last April was a mistake.

Simmons told police he brought the gun to his job because he was fearful of someone. He told police he had forgotten about the gun when he went to school and never meant to take it to Woodruff.

Journal Star

Family of brain-damaged boy gets $12M settlement

ROCKFORD -- A Winnebago County judge approved a $12 million settlement Thursday between OSF HealthCare System Inc. and a Rockford couple who claimed their son was severely injured during birth in 2004.

Jeremy Law, now 4, has spastic quadriparesis, a form of cerebral palsy. His parents, Patricia and Wendell Law, sued OSF in 2006 alleging that hospital staff failed to properly assess Jeremy, not recognizing that he was positioned for a breech delivery (feet-first rather than head-first).

As a result, Jeremy did not receive enough oxygen during delivery and suffered massive brain damage, according to the lawsuit. He remains dependent on a ventilator and requires around-the-clock care.

The settlement amount is expected to cover the cost of Jeremy’s medical care. The case was set for trial June 1, but the family is pleased that Jeremy’s future is secure, said the family’s attorney, Kevin Burke of the Chicago law office of Burke, Mahoney & Wise.

“At the same time, the settlement does not make up for seeing their son every day and being reminded of what’s been taken away from them,” Burke said. “The family is breathing a great sigh of relief that this aspect of their life is concluding, but no one should mistake this for a windfall.”

Register Star

State Supreme Court: Superintendent's contract must be made public

WHEATON -- The question of whether a school district must release a suburban superintendent’s contract under the Freedom of Information Act was decided Thursday by the Illinois Supreme Court, with a unanimous decision in favor of the public’s right to know.

In the case of Mark O. Stern v. Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200, the Supreme Court ruled 7-0 that a superintendent’s contract is not exempt from disclosure even if it is kept in a personnel file.

“A contract’s physical location within an otherwise exempt record is irrelevant,” Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald wrote in the opinion. “We hold that an employment contract is not the kind of record the General Assembly intended to keep from public view and does not fall within the exemption for personnel files in section 7(1)(b) of the act. The superintendent’s contract must be disclosed.”

The ruling is a reversal of a DuPage Circuit Court’s decision three years ago, and will affect school districts across the state.

Chicago Suburban Life

Gallatin County sheriff ordered held without bail

BENTON -- Gallatin County Sheriff Raymond Martin was ordered held without bail during a preliminary and detention hearing in Benton Federal Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Martin, 46, of Junction faces three charges of distribution of marijuana and two charges of carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime. He was arrested Monday at his office in Shawneetown.

In entering the detention order, Judge Philip M. Frazier said prosecutors and investigators have done a very thorough job and presented a strong preliminary case.

"What is presented here is a monumental breach of trust," Frazier said.

A trial date for Martin will be determined after he is formally indicted by a grand jury.